Monday, July 16, 2007

Vicki’s last blog on hot weather got my wheels turning.We’ve been having brush fires here in Hawai‘i due to ongoing drought conditions.The scent of burning wood is in the air.And it’s not that nice autumn smell.This is an odor that makes people sniff the air while anxiety furrows their brows.A few days ago, the front page of our newspaper had a picture of a fireman being carried off by his colleagues because he was overcome with heat prostration during a fight against one of these fires.And these are young people who train hard.They’re in shape.

I got to thinking about the many roles, often dangerous, which are played by the Honolulu Fire Department. The one most people think of is the department’s quick action against fire.They fight building fires, vehicle fires, brush fires, dumpster and rubbish fires, and marine vessel fires.To do this, the fire department, which consists of forty-two stations on the island of O‘ahu (our most populated island, at about 900,000 residents), uses forty-two engine companies, thirteen ladder companies, two rescue companies, two hazardous materials companies, two tower companies, a fireboat company, five tankers, two helicopters, one helicopter tender, and several personal water craft.

In addition to preventing and fighting fires, HFD responds to medcal emergencies, hazardous materials spills and leaks, and search and rescue missions on both land and water.Along with the other members of my family, I’m a surfer (very small waves for me), and we often look up at the sound of helicopter rotors that rattle an otherwise tranquil outing.When we hear those blades, we say a little prayer for whomever those copters are going to help.

Sometimes the helicopters head for the rugged cliffs and mountains to rescue injured hikers, where they drop specially trained HFD rescue squads.One helicopter carries a detachable forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera to help locate lost or missing hikers once night has fallen. Once the hiker has been found, the rescue crew may use a Billy Pugh Rescue Net or a Stokes Litter to extract the person from hard-to-reach or perilous areas.

Often for ocean rescues, the HFD rescue crews use PWC’s, or personal water craft.They work with HonoluluCity and CountyLifeguards, who have begun a nation-wide training program for ocean rescue situations using these fast machines and the accompanying rescue sleds.Speaking of ocean rescues, HFD’s fireboat, the Mokuahi, responds to marine vessel fires and rescues in the busy, international HonoluluHarbor and up to 3 miles offshore.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of HPD’s activities in a state widely seen as a tourist destination.We need to keep our image warm and friendly, which isn’t usually difficult in such a beautiful place.But danger lurks below the azure waters and velvety mountains intrinsic to this chain of volcanic islands: crashing surf, hidden ocean currents, precipitous cliffs, wild animals (no snakes, though), and the unpredictable human being.It’s a great place for mysteries.

Rick Blechta writes on Tuesdays

Barbara Fradkin writes on alternate Wednesdays

Sybil Johnson writes on Alternate Wednesdays

John Corrigan writes on alternate Thursdays

Donis Casey writes on alternate Thursdays

Charlotte Hinger writes on alternate Fridays

Frankie Bailey writes on Alternate Fridays

Vicki Delany writes on the second weekend of every month

Mario Acevedo writes on the 4th Saturday of each month

Aline Templeton

Aline Templeton lives in Edinburgh in a house with a balcony overlooking the beautiful city skyline. Her series featuring DI Marjory Fleming is set in beautiful Galloway, in South-west Scotland. alinetempleton.co.uk

Marianne Wheelaghan

Marianne is from Edinburgh. She left home at seventeen. After a heap of travelling, which included living in Kiribati, the third most remote country in the world, she ended back in Edinburgh where she still lives very happily. Her crime mysteries feature DS Louisa Townsend, The Scottish Lady Detective, and are mostly set in the Pacific. Read more about Marianne and her books on her blog: www.mariannewheelaghan.co.uk and at @MWheelaghan

Rick Blechta

Rick has two passions in life, mysteries and music, and his thrillers contain liberal doses of both. He has two upcoming releases, Roses for a Diva, his sequel to The Fallen One, for Dundurn Press, and for Orca’s Rapid Reads series, The Boom Room, a second book featuring detectives Pratt & Ellis. You can learn more about what he’s up to at www.rickblechta.com. From the musical side, Rick leads a classic soul band in Toronto. Check out SOULidifiedband.com. And lastly, being a former line cook with an interest in all things culinary, he has a blog dedicated to food: A Man for All Seasonings.

Barbara Fradkin

Barbara Fradkin is a retired psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. Her dark short stories haunt the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, but she is best known for her award-winning series featuring the quixotic, exasperating Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, published by Dundurn Press. The ninth book, The Whisper of Legends, was published in April 2013. Visit Barbara at barbarafradkin.com.

Sybil Johnson

Sybil Johnson’s love affair with reading began in kindergarten with “The Three Little Pigs.” Visits to the library introduced her to Encyclopedia Brown, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and a host of other characters. Fast forward to college where she continued reading while studying Computer Science. After a rewarding career in the computer industry, Sybil decided to try her hand at writing mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mysterical-E and Spinetingler Magazine, among others. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Southern California where she enjoys tole painting, studying ancient languages and spending time with friends and family. Find her at www.authorsybiljohnson.com.

John R Corrigan

John R. Corrigan is D.A. Keeley, author of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Peyton Cote series, which is set along the Maine-Canada border. Bitter Crossing (summer 2014) will be the first of at least three novels in the series. Born in Augusta, Maine, he lives with his wife and three daughters at Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts, where he is English department chair, a teacher, a hockey coach, and may very well be the only mystery writer in North America who also serves as a dorm parent to 50 teenage girls. A Mainer through and through, he tries to get to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, as often as possible. You can see what he's up to by visiting www.amazon.com/author/DAKeeley or dakeeleyauthor.blogspot.com or on Twitter (@DAKeeleyAuthor).

Donis Casey

Donis is the author of six Alafair Tucker Mysteries. Her award-winning series, featuring the sleuthing mother of ten children, is set in Oklahoma during the booming 1910s. Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She lives in Tempe, AZ, with her husband, poet Donald Koozer. The latest Alafair Tucker novel, The Wrong Hill to Die On (Poisoned Pen Press, 2012), is available in paper or electronic format wherever books are sold. Readers can enjoy the first chapter of each book on her web site at www.doniscasey.com.

Frankie Bailey

Frankie Y. Bailey is a criminal justice professor who focuses on crime, history, and American culture. Her current project is a book about dress, appearance, and criminal justice. Her mystery series featuring crime historian Lizzie Stuart is set mainly in the South. Her near-future police procedural series featuring Detective Hannah McCabe is set in Albany, New York. Visit Frankie at frankieybailey.com.

Charlotte Hinger

Charlotte Hinger is a novelist and Western Kansas historian. Convinced that mystery writing and historical investigation go hand in hand, she now applies her MA in history to academic articles and her depraved imagination to the Lottie Albright series for Poisoned Pen Press. charlottehinger.com

Vicki Delany/Eva Gates

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of more than 25 books, including the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year Round Christmas cozy series, the Constable Molly Smith books, standalone novels of suspense, the Klondike Gold Rush series, and novellas for adult literacy. As Eva Gates, she is the author of the national bestselling Lighthouse Library cozy series from Penguin. Find Vicki at www.vickidelany.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor/

Mario Acevedo

Mario Acevedo is the author of the Felix Gomez detective-vampire series. His short fiction is included in the anthologies, You Don’t Have A Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens and Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery, and in Modern Drunkard Magazine. Mario lives with a dog in Denver, CO. His website is marioacevedo.com.